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James Arthur Ray was a charismatic self-help guru who promised his followers a path to wealth and enlightenment by becoming the best versions of themselves. But not all who followed him finished their journey. After Ray appeared on Oprah, thousands flocked to his events. But what many didn't know about were his more extreme methods. Methods that pushed his followers to their limits, giving some the transformative experience they envisioned and killing others. I'm about to play a clip from the latest series on the Audible True Crime podcast. Listen to Audible True Crime wherever you get your podcasts. Audible subscribers can binge all episodes ad-free right now. Join Audible in the Audible app or by subscribing on Apple Podcasts. It was March 2009, and in a big chain hotel in New Jersey, a crowd milled around, waiting. Once the doors opened, everyone headed for the same place. It was a large auditorium with a big stage in front. The event was called the Harmonic Wealth Weekend, a rigorous two-day seminar that promised to get participants on the fast track to personal and professional success. It wasn't the kind of thing Ginny Brown was normally into, but her daughter, Kirby, had insisted that they go together. As they walked in, she had to admit, the atmosphere was exciting. And we had to walk through a gauntlet, I will say, of cheerleaders who were jumping up and down and revving up the energy in the room. And I remember saying to one woman, I said, man, you girls really had your coffee this morning. And she said to me, oh, we don't drink coffee. Like, that's poison. And I was like, oh, okay, well, I do, and I love it. As everyone took their seats, the lights dimmed. James Arthur Ray stepped onto the stage and began a version of a speech he often gave. Let's talk about what's changing right now in your world. You see, I firmly believe that you live in the most exciting time in our world history. It's a time where science and spirituality are realizing that they're sister studies. James was tanned with a bright white smile, wearing a bright white shirt. Pretty trim, athletic build, fairly good looking. Just can't get going in the morning without my coffee. Give me a frickin' break! Total command of the audience. People laughed. They nodded their heads like, yeah. You know, that high energy kind of environment is just kind of fun. You want to be part of it. You want to belong. You don't want to stand down and be kind of against what's going on. Because James Ray was a star. Law of attraction says like attracts like. And as you lock your attention upon that, then another particle which is in harmony with it is attracted. And another's attracted. Another's attracted. Now, bang, you've got a Mercedes. On stage, he talked about reflecting on yourself and your position in life. Then, he began to pull audience members onto the stage and ask them questions. And I'd like to ask for two volunteers to help me out here. I need a couple of volunteers, okay? Come on, both of you. Come on, give them a hand. Give them a hand as they come up. First, Ginny was impressed. I was fascinated by his ability to really read someone. You know, he read people really well. But as she watched, something began to nag at her. There were a couple of times where he brought people up on the stage and had them reveal very deep, personal, troubling things in their life. Ginny is a clinical social worker. And I sat there thinking, hmm, you know, as a trained therapist, those are the kinds of questions that I would ask if someone was sitting in my office. Not in front of hundreds of people. I was both fascinated and uncomfortable. She turned to her daughter, Kirby, who was mesmerized. Just said, you know, that's, you know, that's really not such a great thing to do. But Kirby was focused on James. Kirby was in her late 30s and had bounced around careers and relationships. She wanted more success and stability in her life. Ginny knew that Kirby had been doing her own soul search, and that James' teachings had already helped. And she was going to stay there to get the most out of the experience, whether she believed everything or not. But neither of us ever thought he was dangerous. Later that year, after attending another James Ray event with her father, Kirby Brown would get in her car and drive to Sedona, Arizona for a five-day intensive retreat with James called Spiritual War. For James' followers, it was the pinnacle event of their journey, and Kirby spent her life savings, nearly $10,000, to be there. The retreat started on October 4th, 2009. Five days later, Ginny was at home in upstate New York. Around 8 a.m., the doorbell rang. At 8.15, the trooper comes to the door and asks me if I know Kirby Brown. You know, my first thought was, oh my God, is she in some kind of trouble? But it was more than trouble. Ginny would never see her daughter again. For the best bingeable series, like Guru, The Dark Side of Enlightenment, listen to the Audible True Crime podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Audible subscribers can get all episodes on Audible True Crime early and ad-free right now. © transcript Emily Beynon